


Secret Santa Sucks

by DeceitfulHonesty



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: AU, F/F, Office Party, Secret Santa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-26
Updated: 2016-01-04
Packaged: 2018-05-09 11:41:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5538536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeceitfulHonesty/pseuds/DeceitfulHonesty
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Company-wide Secret Santa's are usually awful. They're even more so when the person you were assigned turns out to be really attractive and you've gotten them a terrible gift.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Ugly Sweater Incident

Daisy stood in the Christmas aisle in the drugstore and stared at the shelves full of tacky presents. She had no clue what to get. Whoever decided a company-wide Secret Santa would be fun clearly had no idea how many people worked at their company. Or that Daisy knew basically 3 people and picking out a gift for a random stranger would not end well.

  
Daisy glanced down at the scrap of paper she pulled out of the stupid fishbowl 3 weeks ago. All it said was Simmons scrawled across it in large blocky letters. Nothing to indicate gender, what department they worked in, or anything. Time to put those hours of watching CSI to use.

  
Simmons had to be a last name, right? Maybe not. But if it was, usually guys went by only their last names. Daisy had no clue why, but it was a thing. And mostly old people worked for her company, right? Who cares, good enough. Daisy grabbed an extra large sweater with ‘#1 Dad’ printed across it in giant letters and headed towards the checkout. Worst case scenario is it goes to a guy who doesn’t have any kids.

  
~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
The day of the Secret Santa arrived and Daisy was thankful that, if nothing else, they were all let off work early to head down to the Christmas party. The party planers clearly spared no expense on the decorations (meaning they bought the cheap stuff but a lot of it) and every inch of the room was covered in red and green crepe paper streamers and paper snowflakes. Luckily, there was also a substantial food budget, so after tossing her poorly wrapped gift into the pile and ducking around some mistletoe (just in case anyone got any ideas), Daisy beelined for the snack table.

  
Unfortunately, Daisy knew next to no one at the party. The IT guys she typically worked with were not the kind to mingle voluntarily, so Daisy hovered in the corner with her mountain of snacks and scoped out the crowd.

  
Her suspicions were confirmed that mostly old people worked for her company. She recognized a few of them, because they consistently messed up their computers and Daisy had to fix them, but was not familiar enough to be friendly with them.

  
Daisy thought she saw one of the engineers that she knew well enough and was about to head over to talk to him when the lab rats from the basement wandered in. Some of them were still wearing their lab coats and looked like they were just planning to grab some food and sneak back out, but the last one through the door caught Daisy’s attention.

  
She was adorable. No other way to describe her. She was kind of short, wearing a suitably nerdy cardigan, and had a bright smile on her face that showed that she was way too excited for this Christmas party. She undid the loose ponytail her hair had been in and ruffled it out and Daisy swore that she saw the movement in slow motion like a cheesy rom-com scene.

  
She had to go talk to her. Who knew if she even liked girls, but Daisy couldn’t pass up the chance. She shoved a final cheese-covered cracker into her mouth and pushed off the wall she had been leaning on to go say hi.

  
And because Daisy had the worst luck in the world, the Secret Santa organizer, whose name Daisy never caught, announced that now would be a good time to start exchanging the gifts. Everyone in the room swarmed around the tiny table where the gifts were stacked in a tight circle and, of course, the cute girl was on the opposite side from Daisy.

  
The organizer grabbed a present at random and handed it to the designated person. Everyone ooh-ed and ah-ed after the person opened it and then the ‘Santa’ fessed up and they would get a bland ‘thank you’ in return. This pattern went on for quite a few presents. Most were generic things you could get at the dollar store, with a few gag gifts thrown in by the more adventurous employees.

  
Daisy’s turn came up and she got a pedicure kit from one of the executive assistants. Definitely not something she would have bought herself, but heck, she’ll use it.

  
A few more uneventful presents were handed out until Daisy saw her present grabbed off the table.

  
“Simmons?”

  
“That’s me!”

  
Oh no. Daisy’s heart sank. Simmons was definitely not an old man with grandchildren on the way like Daisy had assumed. It was the cute lab girl. Who was apparently British. Perfect. Daisy’s mind raced and she tried to figure out a way to snatch the present back and say there was a mistake. Maybe she could say she put on the wrong name sticker when she was wrapping.

  
Unfortunately, Simmons had already started tearing into the kitten wrapping paper with vigor and did not look like she was going to let go of the box for anything. She finally broke into the box (well, it took about 2 seconds, but to Daisy it was eons) and pulled the sweater out of the tissue paper and stared at it. Daisy wondered if there was still time to sneak out the door and never come back.

  
And then the girl started laughing. Raucously. As in, laughing so hard she eventually curled in on herself and had to kneel down with her arms wrapped around her middle. Despite Daisy wanting the floor to swallow her up, the girl’s laugh was infectious. And adorable. Eventually one the lab rats next to Simmons snatched the sweater from her hands and held it up so everyone could see why she was curled up on the floor laughing.

  
After a few moments, the organizer asked who had Simmons as their Secret Santa. It sounded more accusatory when she asked this time for some reason. Daisy sheepishly raised her hand with her other hand clamped over her eyes so she wouldn’t have to see the judgmental looks she was sure she was getting.

  
The laughter settled down finally and Daisy heard an “I love it, thank you so much,” from across the circle. She peered through her fingers and Simmons had straightened up and was wiping tears from her eyes as she continued to chuckle over the shirt.  
Daisy swore she felt her heart grow 3 sizes in that moment.

  
~~~~~~~~~

  
Once all the other gifts had been handed out, Daisy returned to the snack table to make a plate for the road and then planned to book it back to her cozy cubicle. A tap on her shoulder interrupted that plan.

  
Daisy spun around and came face to face with Simmons, still holding onto that damned ‘#1 Dad’ sweater.

  
“Uh...hey,” Daisy blurted as she backed into the table.

  
“Hello. I don’t believe we’ve been introduced and I wanted to thank you properly,” Simmons stated.

  
“Honestly, don’t mention it. I beg you,” Daisy replied.

  
Simmons chuckled, “Nevertheless,” she extended a hand to Daisy, “I’m Jemma, I work down in the labs. Simmons is my surname, by the way.”

  
“That...definitely makes sense. I’m—”

  
“Daisy, right? I remember from before,” Jemma finished. Daisy felt a small surge of joy as she realized that she got her present before the sweater spectacle and Jemma still remembered her name.

  
“Yeah, Daisy Johnson. IT.”

  
Jemma smiled, “Then thank you, Daisy, for the sweater. It was definitely not what I was expecting.”

  
“If you want to trade for a pedicure kit, I can still take it back,” Daisy suggested, waving her present to illustrate her point.

  
Jemma only clutched the sweater tighter and grinned, “Absolutely not!”

  
Daisy held up her hands in surrender, “Okay then. I just hope you don’t get repeat gifts. Those are the worst, ‘cause then you’ve got to ask for receipts, and fight through crowds to return them—” Daisy trailed off because Jemma was laughing again and she didn’t want to miss it.

  
“I think I’ll manage if that should happen, but thanks for your concern,” Jemma assured her. She glanced at the clock on the wall, “I really should get back to work now. I hope I’ll see you around at some point, Daisy,” Jemma said. As she headed to the door, Daisy fought the urge to sprint ahead and meet her at the mistletoe. Daisy finished piling up her plate of snacks and headed back to her floor, wondering if maybe the computers down in the lab might need some software updates soon.


	2. The Hot Chocolate Incident

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jemma decides to work late in the office on Christmas Eve and thinks she's alone in the building. Unfortunately, she's not and the other person does not react well to being startled...

The best thing about working on Christmas Eve was the quiet. There was no one in the lab to annoy her with gossip, no one wandering the halls, banging equipment around. Just silence.

  
It’s not like Jemma had any plans to begin with, since her family was all back in England, so Christmas turned into a perfect chance to check on her bacteria cultures in peace. Maybe later, she would go watch a cheesy movie in her apartment with some spiked hot chocolate, but for now, she could log some extra hours in the office.

  
Jemma sat up from her microscope and cracked her back a few times. Somehow, 3 hours had passed since she last looked at the clock, so she decided to take a quick break. After putting anything potentially hazardous away, she hung up her lab coat and headed up to the communal break room.

  
The first thing Jemma noticed on reaching the hallway was music. Even the custodians were off on Christmas Eve, so it was surprising that anyone else would be here. The next thing she noticed was singing.

  
Jemma poked her head around the doorframe, cautiously taking in the scene. The woman in the break room was loudly singing both parts of “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” accompanied by her phone, while stirring something in a mug and placing it back in the microwave. She probably thought she was alone in the office too, because she was singing without a care in the world while swaying her hips to the music before grabbing her mug from the microwave and stirring again. It was then that Jemma recognized the woman and stepped into the break room to feel like less of a creep.

  
“Daisy?”

  
In retrospect, Jemma should have made some other noise before entering the room, or better yet just snuck back to her lab unnoticed, but hindsight wouldn’t help her now.

  
Daisy, in the middle of some sort of spin when Jemma announced herself, squeaked loudly and somehow dropped the entire mug of what Jemma now knew as hot chocolate down Jemma’s pants.

  
And it was very very hot chocolate.

  
Jemma tried not to scream many expletives from the burning sensation in her legs while Daisy frantically tore paper towels from the dispenser and started blotting at Jemma’s pants. Daisy rambled, “Oh my god I am so sorry. You scared the crap out of me and I probably shouldn’t have been dancing around with a full mug but I—”

  
Daisy stopped blotting and had her eyes locked on Jemma’s chest, which she would have been offended by, before Daisy continued.  
“You’re wearing my sweater?”

  
Jemma looked down. She had forgotten that she grabbed the ‘#1 Dad’ sweater from the Secret Santa off her floor this morning. It was really comfy, she couldn’t help it.

  
“Can we address the third degree burns on my legs first?” Jemma screeched.

  
Daisy’s cheeks flushed, “Right, sorry. Um… please don’t hate me, but you probably should take your pants off.”

  
Jemma already knew that, but Daisy’s embarrassed face was almost enough to distract her from the scalding liquid burning her skin.

Almost. Jemma wasn’t looking forward to walking around in her underwear until her pants dried.

  
“Was this just an elaborate scheme to get me out of my pants?” Jemma teased as she started unbuckling her jeans.

  
Daisy’s face turned bright red and she started sputtering, “What?!? No I-I thought I- no one else is he—and I woul—I promise I’m just really clumsy.”

  
Jemma just chuckled. While she was peeling her chocolate stained pants off, Daisy shrugged off her flannel overshirt and held it out to Jemma with one hand over her eyes.

  
“I have an extra pair of pants in my office if you want them,” Daisy offered.

  
“That would be much appreciated,” Jemma replied after tying the shirt around her waist in an attempt to maintain some modesty. Daisy peered through her fingers to ensure Jemma was decent and then led her down the hall to her office.

  
Once there, Daisy slid open one of the drawers of her desk to reveal a pile of folded shirts and some pants. She grabbed a random pair and held them out to Jemma.

  
“Can I ask why you have so many changes of clothes at work?” Jemma wondered.

  
“I may have spent more than a few nights at the office,” Daisy shrugged, “The lab rats are really good at downloading really aggressive viruses to company computers.”

  
“Lab rats?”

  
Daisy seemed to realize who she was talking to and her eyes went wide, “Shit, not th— Ugh, just ignore me. I’m terrible.”

  
Jemma had to laugh, “Not terrible, just easily flustered.”

  
“Only around pretty girls who like my tacky Secret Santa presents,” Daisy retorted with a smirk. She dug around a different drawer and pulled out a jug of laundry detergent, “You want me to wash those for you?”

  
Jemma smiled and nodded, “I’m starting to think you just live in your office.”

  
She handed over her soggy jeans and shuffled into a corner of the office to pull on the clean ones Daisy had handed her.

  
Daisy scoffed, “Not all the time. I do have an apartment, I promise. It’s very nice.”

  
“Maybe I’ll have to see it sometime,” Jemma blurted before she could stop herself. She had no idea where this flirting was coming from. She supposed it had to be residual adrenaline from having burning liquid poured down her pants.

  
Apparently, Daisy was just as startled by the statement as Jemma had been, evidenced by her nearly slamming into the doorframe as she tripped leaving her office. She stuttered out something that Jemma didn’t hear while pointing down the hall towards the restrooms and slipping out of the room.

  
After Jemma finished tugging on Daisy’s pants, she followed her down the hall, not wanting to awkwardly sit in someone else’s office alone. The borrowed jeans were a bit loose on Jemma and the end of the legs bunched up around her feet, but it was better than walking around in her underwear. With Jemma’s luck, there would be more overzealous employees working today that would sneak up on her.

  
When Jemma reached the restroom, Daisy had already set to work filling up the sink with water and (in Jemma’s opinion) far too much detergent and started scrubbing the hot chocolate out. Jemma sidled over and hopped up to sit on the counter to watch her work.  
“I get the sense that you do this quite often,” she remarked.

  
Daisy smirked, “Unfortunately, yes. Like I said, I’m a bit of a klutz.”

  
Jemma hummed in acknowledgement and they lapsed into silence for a moment.

  
Daisy was the first to break it, “So, why are you in the office on Christmas Eve?” she asked.

  
Jemma shrugged, “I’ve got no family in this country to celebrate with and no time to fly home. What about you?”

  
Daisy mirrored her shrug, “Just no family.”

  
“Oh.”

  
“At least it gives me some time to work without a ton of people in the office,” Daisy replied, “Not that I mind the company in this case.”  
Jemma smiled, “Well, if you’re interested, there’s a wonderful Chinese place down the road that I was planning on going to for dinner.”

  
“Oh yeah, I’ve heard of it. The guys go there for lunch pretty much every day. Do they deliver?” Daisy asked, not taking her eyes off the sink, which she was now draining and rinsing out Jemma’s pants.

  
Jemma nearly rolled her eyes, “I’m sure they do, but I mentioned it thinking you would want to go there. Together.”

  
Daisy dropped the freshly rung out jeans back in the sink full of soapy water, splashing herself, but hardly noticing.

  
“So...like a date?”

  
“Yes, that’s the idea. You really weren’t kidding about the ‘clumsy’ thing were you?” Jemma responded with a chuckle.

  
Daisy looked at the wet soapy mess of her shirt sheepishly, “I may need another change of clothes first.”

  
Daisy finished re-rinsing and ringing out Jemma’s now clean pants, gathered up her supplies, and started to lead the way back to her office, with an extra bounce in her step that was not there before.

  
Jemma had a thought, “I’m very surprised you haven’t—”

  
“You should probably buy dinner, since you already got in my pants,” Daisy threw over her shoulder with a wicked smile.

  
“There it is.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I never claim to be a punctual person... so my final Christmas story is being posted on January 4th, what of it?  
> But whatever, it's here now. And now I can go back to working on some prompts I've had sitting, as well as some longer stories!  
> Pop over to my writing tumblr yo! sad-trash-writing

**Author's Note:**

> Basically, for this fic and the last one, I went through the christmas AU tags and found a bunch of cheesy awkward meet cute prompt to write up because I'm a sucker for meet-cutes. Also, this one is going to be a 2-parter because I have at least one more prompt that fits this AU to write up (hopefully that'll be done tomorrow, since Christmas is already over, but no promises).  
> Check out my writing tumblr sad-trash-writing!


End file.
